Spring Asparagus Waffles
I was trying to recreate the effect of cold asparagus sandwiches -- the ones with the trimmed off crusts that my grandmother served guests at a Wednesday tea. Fresh tarragon is the key here. These waffles are delicious cold as well as fresh off the iron. The adventurous can throw in a few tablespoons of mushrooms in step 3.

1/2 pound asparagus

1 shallot, minced

4 TBsp butter

2 tsp fresh tarragon

freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp lemon juice

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp double-acting baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

Trim the asparaus and boil for 3 min. until just tender. Immediately plunge in cold water to stop the cooking. Drain, chop into 1/2" pieces and set aside.

Melt 4TBsp of butter on med-high and add the shallots for 2 min.

Add the tarragon, pepper and asparagus and cook for one minute longer. Add the lemon and set aside.

Whisk the remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well.

Whisk together the eggs and buttermilk in a medium bowl. Add the tarragon and asparagus mixture.

Pour the wet ingredients into the well, mixing until just blended

This batter is thick, so push and spread it to the edges of the grids. It's more suitable to a Belgium-type waffle iron.